We are the first to admit that there are no Internet marketing geniuses behind the pages of this newsletter. We continue to learn something new each and every day. But that's what is so exciting about it -- each time we act on our newfound knowledge our online sales increase.

You should make an effort to do the same, and this week we're going to help you do just that by sharing with you what we feel to be The Top 10 Internet Marketing Blunders. Chances are you're making at least one of them, so you may want to give the following some serious thought.

Keep in mind that the following really only applies if you are trying to run some sort of business online, which most of us are. You can afford to make a few blunders with a personal homepage, but if you're running a business online the following "rules" are written in stone.

Because the following are serious mistakes which all detract from your bottom line, we're going to tell it like it is at the risk of sounding elitist or egotistical. We don't want to offend anyone, it's just that there are certain things that you really shouldn't do. Here goes ...

Blunder #1: Using free or cheapo web hosting services.

Let's get one thing straight, you absolutely can not run a business web site using a free web page such as those offered by Angelfire, Tripod, GeoCities, HyperMart, FreeYellow, etc. No matter what you may think, it just isn't going to work. As they say you get what you pay for.

There is no bigger turnoff than visiting a web site that is hosted on an obviously overloaded web server. We won't mention any names, but a few of the free services are just terrible. Your web site is the most important asset you have, and it must give a good first impression.

Besides, nothing is really free anyway. When you get "free" web space you are normally required to show the hosting company's banners and advertisements in prime locations on your web site. This is absolutely insane if you really think about it from a business standpoint.

These days you can find a good web hosting company that will provide what you need for as little as $20 a month. Let's be real, if you aren't willing to spend $20 a month on a good web host how serious can you be? Many good prospects are immediately turned off by this blunder.

And while we're on the subject of web hosting, be sure to get your own domain name. Again, if you aren't willing to spend $70 to claim your stake on the web ... what are your potential customers going to think? Take your business seriously, or you will ultIMAtely fail.

Blunder #2: Destroying your site with graphics, java, music, etc.

This has got to be the 2nd most offensive Internet marketing blunder. If you are running a business online, your web site's most important job is to sell your products and services. Anything that detracts from this should be avoided like the plague. And we mean it, literally!

Unless you are a graphic designer, graphics that take forever to load are not going to sell anything. And neither is java that crashes your visitor's browser. Same thing for any but the most popular plug-ins. Sound or music clips on your web site? Heck no!

Unless you are selling CDs, sound does not belong on a web site -- not yet anyway. Sure you can argue this, but the bottom line is that it can cause your visitors problems. Fancy graphics, java, plug-ins, sound files, etc. do nothing but make your pages take forever to load.

Don't take it from us, just look at any of the top 100 sites on the web. Heck, look at Yahoo which is undeniably the most popular web site on the Internet. When was the last time you saw fancy java apps, needed a plug-in, or heard music coming from Yahoo's web site?

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